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Bears vs. Eagles Preview
Everything you need to know ahead of Friday's Bears-Eagles showdown.
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When the Chicago Bears take the field in Philadelphia on Black Friday, the game won’t just feature two NFC playoff contenders trying to strengthen their postseason footing. It’ll also showcase one of the most compelling coaching chess matches of the 2025 season: Ben Johnson’s ascending, explosive offense against Vic Fangio, the godfather of the modern two-high defensive world. Fangio began coaching NFL defenses the year Johnson was born. And yet, despite the age gap and track record, this matchup is far more a clash of equals than a generational showcase.
That’s because Johnson and Fangio are both tacticians who have reshaped the way teams win in today’s NFL.
“He’s really changed the way teams play defense,” Chicago Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle said this week. “You’ve seen a lot of teams structure kind of the way they’re built off how he’s built his defenses. It’s principled. They disguise everything. They make it cloudy.”
And against a young quarterback or an inexperienced passer, that fog usually turns into turnovers.
Which makes this matchup particularly fascinating for Caleb Williams. He’s not only facing Fangio for the first time, but doing it in Year 1 of Johnson’s scheme — the exact scenario Fangio traditionally feasts on. Williams knows exactly what he’s walking into on Friday.
“He limits explosive plays,” Williams said. “He has a great D-line, their backers are free, they’ve got explosive players in the secondary who can go up and get the ball.”
The Eagles can sit in two-high shells all day and still generate pressure because Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Zach Baun collapse pockets without help.
What makes Fangio dangerous is that nothing looks like what it actually is.
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